Barcode readers or code readers are used in many different ways for commercial purposes. There are many different styles of code readers, including a handheld gun that includes a trigger for reading machine-readable indicia, such as barcodes, QR codes, and other machine-readable indicia.
Code readers are often used to read machine-readable indicia to count inventory or perform other functions, such as performing checkouts at a retail store. To notify a user that the machine-readable indicia has been decoded correctly or incorrectly, a sound or audible signal, such as a buzzer, is generated to audibly notify the user that the machine-readable was successfully or unsuccessfully decoded.
Because barcode readers are often used in noisy environments, such as retail stores, factories, warehouses, etc., the audible signal is to have a volume that is loud enough for the user to hear. To accommodate such environments, a code reader requirement is to be capable of generating an audible signal with an audible signal level above a minimum threshold level, such as a sound pressure level (SPL) of 70 dBA measured at 50 cm for a “retail” environment code reader, and 80 dBA measured at 50 cm for an “industrial” environment code reader. Meeting the minimum audible signal threshold level using conventional buzzers of barcode readers can be a challenge. Adding to the challenge is the fact that handheld barcode readers can be expensive to assemble due to the number of parts that have to be included within a housing of the handheld barcode readers, so the ability to add complexity and parts within handheld code readers is limited. Sound chambers are sometimes used to help improve sound directivity, which is an index that measures how focused a sound wave is in one major direction. As understood in the art, the more directivity a sound has, the less that sound has energy in other directions, thereby lowering the distance at which the sound is audible in those other directions. However, the use of sound chambers in handheld code scanners can be challenging due to size constraints. Accordingly, there is a need to increase audible signals of code readers to achieve the minimum audible signal threshold level, size constraints, production efficiencies, and cost constraints.